The Coral Triangle Maps of the Month is a bi-weekly email running from August-December 2012 that showcases various maps that highlight the diversity and uniqueness of the Coral Triangle region. The maps also show some of the pressing issues that are threatening this very important resource considered the epicenter of the world's marine biodiversity. The maps are generated by the Coral Triangle Atlas team at The WorldFish Center.

After achieving its independence in 2002, Timor-Leste promptly recognized its responsibility to steward its waters, which lie in the Coral Triangle - the global center of marine biological diversity. Since becoming a sovereign state, Timor-Leste has become a signatory of The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Arafura and Timor Seas Expert Forum (ATSEF), Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) and the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI).

To back up these commitments with action, Timor-Leste has conducted scientific studies, including habitat mapping and ecological gap analyses, to generate baseline information that will help to identify important areas for conservation. As a result, Timor-Leste has reported that it will launch small MPAs in three major areas: Nino Konis Santana National Park, Batugade,and Atauro. Seven marine protected area sites have been identified within the Nino Konis Santana National Park, which was declared a protected area in 2007. These includes Com,Tutuwala, Jaco Island, Lore, Mehara, Muapitine and Bauro. These protected areas are slated to become part of a larger marine protected area network in the Lesser Sunda Islands.

Hopefully these initiatives will help to mitigate the impacts of identified threats -such as erosion and sedimentation, particularly mangroves and riparian vegetation, from deforestation, illegal and destructive fishing, population growth and climate change-to coastal ecosystems. In that way, Timor-Leste can work toward meeting its higher-level goals of conserving biodiversity, achieving food security, creating sustainable fisheries and securing critical services from coral reefs and related ecosystems.

The Coral Triangle Atlas is an online Geographical Information System (GIS) database providing scientists, governments and NGOs with a view of spatial data at the regional scale. This project will improve the efficiency of conservation planning in the region by giving researchers and managers access to biophysical and socioeconomic information in spatially explicit while encouraging them to share their data to complete the gaps, therefore reducing duplicate data collection efforts and providing the most complete and most current data available.

By contributing data to the CT Atlas, NGO partners, governments and managers are helping to strengthen the effectiveness of conservation activities in the Coral Triangle through improved information flow and access to the region's best datasets.

For more information about the CT Atlas and to contribute data, contact: Annick Cros atacros@tnc.orgor ReefBase at reefbase@cgiar.org You can also participate in discussions or submit questions to the CT Atlas forum